


Twisted, Twisting by scarredsodeep

by scarredsodeep



Category: AFI
Genre: Death, M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-04
Updated: 2006-06-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 00:04:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3097547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarredsodeep/pseuds/scarredsodeep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing you ever said was my name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twisted, Twisting by scarredsodeep

**Author's Note:**

> Something sad and short.

Sometimes I still wake up to the sound of your screaming.

We were fighting when it happened. We were sniping cattily at each other, both furious about some dumb thing one of us had said- after all this, I don’t even remember who said it, or even what it was- and both knowing that I’d be sleeping on the couch that night. We didn’t fight often. It was the stress of the tour. These two stolen weeks in California were our only vacation, and we’d spent six and a half days of it irritated with each other for no real reason.

You’d just called me selfish. That’s the last thing I remember, the last thing you said to me.

“Why do you have to be so fucking _selfish_ , Jade?” you’d snapped.

I was just opening my mouth to retort when the other car hit us. Any foolish words I’d intended to hurt you with were erased by the horrible crumpling of metal and glass, the screaming of tires barely audible over your own.

It’s a miracle I lived, they told me. After. The driver of the other car had been drunk and they hit your side of the car at 65 miles an hour. The metal folded around you like paper, curling you into the palm of its terrible hand. I watched the glass shatter like rain and tried to reach you, but you kept getting farther and farther away.

Then I saw the blood, your blood, shining in the headlights of the other car.

It was everywhere. Everywhere, Davey. You know I could never stand the sight of blood.

 

The next thing I remember is nothing. Awful, black nothing, for a long, long time.

 

I woke up under the brightest light I’ve ever seen. There was beeping, rhythmic and unceasing, and I remember thinking it was our alarm. I thought we’d overslept and the sun was shining on my face. I think I even said your name. I think I even asked you to turn it off.

It kept beeping, though. It seemed too slow to be an alarm. And if the sun was on my face, why was I so cold?  
I reached out for you and my fingers brushed a cold metal bar.

Something black and heavy entered my veins and I remembered something I’d forgotten. It was called pain and suddenly my body was pulsing with it.

I started screaming, but all that came out was a rasping moan. My throat was made of fire.

I opened my eyes.

 

When I asked where you were, the nurses said I wasn’t well enough for visitors. I only had two other questions: is he all right? What happened?

They wouldn’t tell me a damn thing.

 

When the doctor came in for the first time, I opened my mouth to ask the questions but I looked at his face and dread suddenly weighed down my tongue.

“Hello, Jade,” he said kindly. “I’m Keith Tomlin.”

I still couldn’t speak. Something was suddenly, terribly wrong.

“Do you remember what happened, Jade?” he asked me.

I didn’t move.

“You were in a car accident,” he said slowly, clearly hoping to jog some memories. What he didn’t know was I could suddenly remember everything. It ended with you screaming. I wanted to tell him that, to demand where you were, but I couldn’t move.

The nurses had explained this much to me: head trauma, whiplash, severe internal bleeding, damage to the spinal column, minor external cuts and abrasions. They’d also explained morphine.

I hadn’t wanted it. I was determined to keep my edge. They’d given me a pain button that they promised would release it into my system, and I’d sworn never to use it.

Until the first dose started to wear off and my body erupted into agony. Nothing mattered then but stopping it.

You would have been so mad.

“The other car hit you at 65 miles an hour. He was drunk- there’s nothing you could have done to prevent it. Your car is irreparable- the passenger side is entirely destroyed. You’ve been here for two days. Do you remember, Jade?”

I remembered your laugh. I remembered how your eyes crinkled when you smiled. I remembered your smooth skin and full lips.

“Where’s Davey?”

Dr. Tomlin’s face fell and he took a deep breath.

“Your friend… was hurt badly,” he said slowly.

My lungs began to trickle full of lead.

“Part of the car was embedded in his spine. His skull was cracked on impact, both of his lungs collapsed, and his seatbelt… it snapped his neck, Mr. Puget. Your friend never had a chance.”

Suddenly, I was drowning.

 

It’s been three years and I’m still underwater. All I’ve got left is a few scars. That’s all I have to remember you by.

You’d be furious if you saw where I had you buried. It’s a beautiful little hill with an oak tree. It’s the kind of place that’s too pretty to be creepy even at midnight on Halloween. You’d absolutely hate it, but I loved it. There I go, being selfish. Still. At least once a week I sit there and talk to you. Sometimes I bring us lunch. I feel safe there. Almost like you’re still with me.

I never knew I could miss anyone as much as I miss you. Life’s not worth living without you by my side. The only thing I’m grateful for is that I didn’t have time to say anything back. The last thing you ever said was my name…

…Sometimes I still wake up to the sound of your screaming.

  
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

This story archived at <http://www.afislash.com/viewstory.php?sid=3565>  



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